Landing design ideas

The landing tends to be an awkward space in any house - by nature it is in between things, a transitional space which serves to take you from one room to another. But that doesn't mean its design should be neglected; in fact, hallways and landings are often the first spaces visitors to your home see, and the inhabitants of the house pass through them multiple times a day. Neutral colours can provide a calming palate-cleanser on your path between rooms, but sometimes the small space of a landing is the perfect place for a shot of bright colour. Depending on how much space you have, a well-placed chair or chest can also make a landing feel like a room in its own right, where books and linens can be stored and people can sit and wait if necessary. Scroll down for our favourite landing ideas, from traditional country houses to modern homes, pale and interesting to dark and moody...

In this north London house, interior designer Caroline Holdaway worked with the architectural technologist Mike Etchingham and reordered the space. The roof came off, dividing walls were taken out, a new staircase and landing were put in, and the double-height bay window at the back of the house was added. The landing is furnished with the owners' collection of vintage photographic prints and antique rugs.

Ben Pentreath has chosen a pale blue for the landing in his Georgian parsonage. Framed prints hang neatly on the wall and Ben's extensive collection of magazines have be turned into a neat design feature.

A collection of prints and drawings decorates this white landing with an emerald green armchair. Taking on the conversion of a disused chapel in Somerset, artist Jonathan Delafield Cook, illustrator Laura Stoddart and their two children have made this unique building ther home with colourful touches, cosy testures and a clean and bright design scheme.

This simple and crisp hallway in a provençal stone house in Luberon draws the eye to the geometry of the banister, chandelier, and chair. Every piece of furniture that the designer Sophie James of Bucknall James and the owners bought had to fulfil the requirement that it would work in three potential places throughout the house, including this chair on the landing.

Installing wrought iron radiators and shutters and adding some wall paneling will instantly improve a space. Then all that's required is a stylish but practical console table, some statement lighting and a stylish mirror and/or print.